This invention relates to video systems, and more particularly, to interactive television program guide systems in which non-program listings are interspersed with television program listings.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Users have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a user's television.
Interactive program guides allow the user to navigate through the television program listings using a remote control. In a typical program guide display, television listings are organized in a grid. Each row in the grid contains television program listings for a different channel. The columns in the grid correspond to a series of scheduled broadcast times. The user can scroll up or down to view program listings for different channels or may pan left or right to view information about programs being broadcast at different times.
The display grid in previously known interactive program guides has only been used to display program listings. If the user was interested in some other type of information, the user would have to exit the grid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide that displays selectable non-program options in the grid in addition to program listings.